Tales of a Shapeshifter
by Rhena-Kan
Summary: Wren was just a normal girl. Well, as normal as you can get when you're part monster. She's been searching for the man responsible for her parents death years ago, who also is the reason behind her 'ability'. But when she finds him, she realizes she's bit off a bit more than she can chew. Facing friends and foes alike, there is no time to rest. Not when you have a secret to keep.


Hey everyone, Rhena here. This is my first fanfiction here though I've read quite a lot of Tales of the Abyss Oc inserts before. I just thought I would mention a few things before I got to the actual story. One is the update schedule. I'll try to update every week but the times will vary. Each update will be at least two thousand words (excluding author's note).

Also, not everything is planned out before hand. I have a general idea of where this story will go, but you fans will be able to help as well. Basically I'm saying that I might put up a few questions that who guys can answer in your reviews. The most popular answer wins. For example, here is one. Do you want Wren to be on the god general's side, or Luke's group? Maybe a mixture of both! Just leave a spot in your review and tell me what you think.

Also, below is a brief description of Wren's looks and personality. I thought you guys might want to see it because *small spoiler* she spends most of this chapter in animal form as an observer.

**Name: Wren**

**Gender: Female**

**Age:17**

**Personality: Generally mixed, but when threatened either arrogant and fiery, or pretend weak and innocent. When not threatened mild and cautious though the same fiery personality and sarcasm.**

**Looks (Non-changing): Light brown hair with not very noticeable darker strands. Chocolate brown eyes and a bit of freckles. Her skin is pale but slightly tanned (not always tan, just looks like it).**

**Looks (Other): For clothes she usually wears something along the lines of a tank top covered by a light sleeveless jacket and short-shorts. She would usually wear boots that go almost to her knees too.**

**Weapon of choice: Gauntlets or small knifes.**

**Special ability: Ability to shift from human into a animal. She changes into German Shepard sized fox.**

**Looks (When shifted): Pure white fur with brown paws, tail tip, spots on her tail, ears, neck fur, and spots along her back. Black nose and pink ears and tongue. Brown eyes, sharp white teeth.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: First Contact **

**(Warning, characters might start off a little OOC when dealing with the OC for the first time. This was honestly because I ran out of ideas how this would work. My only good one was involving Anise, but I realized she wasn't with the group at this time. If I ever re-write this that part will be fixed.)**

((Third person pov))

A young girl walked along the edge of the woods, making sure to keep a careful eye out for monsters. She had set out early in the morning, a couple hours before dawn. Her goal was to reach the cheagles' nest before dusk that night. There she would be safe, at least she hoped.

The girl had been staying farther north in the forest. The ligers that populated the area generally left her alone after one encounter they had made. The girl had promised to help them get rid of any humans in the area, though unlike the ligers, she didn't eat them. After all, that would be a sort of cannibalism.

However, a fire had burnt down her region of the forest, forcing her to head to the cheagles' southern half. She knew they would be fine with her staying, so long as she didn't prey upon them. But just in case, she didn't wish to enter the forest unprepared. On the off chance they attacked, it would be much too easy for her to get burned.

Wren stopped briefly to take care of a couple of wolves that lunged at her from the forest, but other than those the monsters had left her alone, for the most part. By now, the sun was almost directly overhead. Wren knew she had to hurry.

((First person pov))

The sunlight felt warm on my skin, helping push away the chills from the wind. I sighed quietly, enjoying the peace. Most people in my position would have long since grown tired and stopped for a break, but years of traveling made me stronger. That was, of course, not including the fact that I needed to find a safe place to sleep that night. Monsters grew more vicious when the sun disappeared.

I looked up once again, frowning when I realized the sun was directly above me. Soon the day would grow warmer, but since I planned on traveling in my other form, as I liked to call it, it would become quite hot. Luckily, the main entrance to the forest was right ahead. That meant the cheagles' home was close.

Quickly, I stripped down and threw my clothes into my bag, actually forgetting to check to make sure nobody was near by. Then again, nobody in their right mind would be, considering this was far from most towns. I felt the familiar feeling of my bones shifting and fur sprouting before I landed on my own four paws.

I sniffed the air briefly, which confirmed nobody was close. I then snatched the bag in my teeth, and proceeded to drag it into the forest. I didn't own many things, just this cheap bag that was very thin and badly sewn and my clothes.

Well... my so called clothes consisted of a t-shirt that was so ripped up that it barely held together and hardly covered any of my stomach, and a small pair of shorts that went halfway to my knees. No shoes, no gald, and no food.

Anyways, I stashed my possessions under a couple of tree roots and dragged some vines over them. That's what I always did with my stuff. I usually stayed in my animal form unless for some odd reason, I had to go into a town or travel a long distance. I didn't own any weapons, so I fought in animal form, unless facing a bandit. Then I would just run.

Walking along, the forest was quite peaceful. Most monsters leave me alone due to the fact that I am one as well. The few odd ones that do attack I send away quickly.

The bushes rustled, and suddenly a wolf leapt out. His teeth snapped and he growled.

"Out! This is our territory!" Two more wolves leapt out and stood stiffly behind him. All three prepared to attack. Not wanting to get into fight – because it would slow me down - I tried to reason with them.

"My apologies, but can you point me in the direction of the cheagles? I'll leave your territory right after." Of course, with them being monsters, there was little area for reason. The leader just snarled his denial at my request before launching himself at me.

I lunged out of his reach and raked my claws across his side. Teeth snapped at my tail and a whine escaped my throat. I spun around and bit the second wolf's ear before thrusting out a hind paw at the one coming up from behind me.

The third wolf leapt into the fray and bit my right shoulder. It took all my strength to pull free of his jaws before spinning around and lunging right for it's throat. I sank my teeth in deep, killing it almost instantly. It's body hit the ground with a thud.

The two remaining wolves backed away slowly before circling around me, looking for a weakness. I circled around opposite them. One of them must have spotted the limp on my right side before it yipped at the other and they both lunged for my injured shoulder. One of them managed to get a firm hold on it and shook.

_Damn..._ If I didn't finish this soon, they'd most likely kill me. Thinking fast, I went limp and let out a low yet sharp whine. After a few more seconds, the wolf dropped me. The other came up to sniff, probably to make sure I was dead. In that instant, I leapt up and clawed it's nose before leaping onto the other's shoulders. I raked my hind claws across its back and snapped at its ear.

The wolf broke free and tore off into the bushes, while its pack mate obviously decided to follow, seeing how he was on his own now. It stopped briefly to growl at me. "Watch your back. If I see you again, you're as good as dead."

Once they were gone, I slumped to the ground, exhausted. I was a much better fighter in human form… when I had a weapon, anyways.

I allowed myself about an hour to rest, though I was careful to keep a look out for more monsters. After the hour was up, I dragged myself up on my paws. I had to keep going...

A couple hours of walking later, it started to get dark, and I still hadn't reached the cheagles tree. I most likely had gotten lost after the fight with the wolves. I hadn't paid attention to the way I came from, so I had picked a random direction and went for it. Sighing, I padded over to a few thorn bushes and crawled under them. Not the best bed, but hopefully it would keep me safe from monsters.

My stomach growled, which reminded me that I hadn't eaten since the day before. There hadn't been a chance to eat at all today and I was too tired now. I settled down and lay my head on my paws. Tomorrow, I promised myself; tomorrow I'll find the cheagles and get something to eat...

_Tomorrow..._

When I awoke the next day, I thought it was the sun that woke me up. A shaft of it was shining directly in my face, and although it felt good, it was also blinding me. Shaking my fur out and growling when it got caught in the thorns, I ducked out of my makeshift den.

The voices hit me immediately, and I realized that this was what had woke me up. I couldn't quite tell where they came from, but the sound told me there were two males and a female. I strained my ears to pick up their conversation.

"Would it be best if I didn't inquire about you and Van?" One of the male voices sounded nearby. If I couldn't smell him, I probably would have thought that he was a girl. His voice definitely sounded like one, and as I crept closer, I saw he looked somewhat like one as well.

"I'm sorry. It relates to my homeland. I'd prefer not to get you or Luke involved." The female responded. Hm... Get involved with what? I'll admit, I am quite nosy. Perhaps I could follow them.

"Hey! It's gonna get away!" I almost yelped right there on the spot. The third voice came right from my left, not more than two feet away from me. How had I not noticed him?! Thank goodness he didn't seem to have seen me.

"Let's go!"

"What? Oh, right."

The other two approached the male, who I assumed was the Luke mentioned earlier. I held my breath and waited for them to pass. Once they were safely out of sight, I debated whether or not to follow them. I was curious about what the female meant by not wanting the others to get involved, but I was still badly hurt from the fight the day before. Finally, common sense won out.

I backed away and started towards the left of where they went. Well, it was more like limping, due to my injured right shoulder. Thankfully, it was the only bad wound. But it was swollen and had started to bleed again. Damn... This meant another trip into town.

I don't know how long I had walked, but eventually, I reached a small stream. I stopped briefly to take a drink, happy that the water was nice and cool. The faint buzzing of bees and chirping of birds filled my ears. It was nice and relaxing.

I laid down by the river in a patch of sunlight, intending to just rest for a while. I ended up dozing off, and awoke some time later. I looked up, blinking up at the sun to find it directly overhead. Great. Noon already. Shaking myself, I slowly made my way down into the river to soak my shoulder, which had grown stiff while resting.

The water felt cool against my fur. The current was moving swiftly, but it was shallow where I was. I trudged across it and pulled myself up on the other bank.

That was when I noticed the huge tree. Sniffing the air, I identified the scent of cheagles. Man! A tasty cheagle sounded really good right now. Well... If I were to eat one of them, I probably wouldn't be allowed to take up shelter there. Damn hunger.

I limped over to the tree, before realizing that I really should try to eat something before going in. The risk was too great, and I'd be no match in this state to fight all those fur balls if I went berserk.

I sighed before turning around slowly to find myself nose to nose with an apple. What luck! I yipped excitedly and checked the area. No creatures in sight. I shifted back into a human, aware that I should eat quickly. After all, I didn't have any clothes with me.

I scarfed down the apple in a few bites, smiling as the juice soothed my dry throat. I looked down and noticed that I was covered in blood and dirt. Uh, ewww...

I knew I was taking a big risk. I had no idea where the humans were at the time, but I decided that I should probably try to get some of this stuff off. I crawled back to the river and ducked under the surface. The water felt even better as a human.

I grabbed a piece of moss and tore it from the rock it clung to. I scraped the dirt off it and rubbed it along my arms and legs. It wasn't the best make-shift wash cloth, but it at least got most of the dirt off. The blood though… Well, I left that to the water. I made sure to keep the moss away from my injury, not wanting to make it worse.

Voices in the distance startled me and I dunked under, stopping my swim in surprise. I shifted under water, coughing as I breathed in liquid instead of oxygen. I sputtered and hacked as I broke the surface, changing into animal form. I dragged myself out of the water and lay on the bank, soaking wet.

As the voices got closer, I recognized their scents. They were the people from earlier, but there was also a new male with them, and… was that a cheagle?

I absent-mindedly listened to their conversation as they walked toward the big cheagle tree. Soon, another cheagle's voice sounded before some decision was made. Apparently, a cheagle was joining these humans on a journey. I have no clue what that's all about, but I'd probably care more if I wasn't so weak.

I slowly stood up, immediately ducking back under the plants when the people and cheagle left the tree. Fear coursed through me, when suddenly I was scooped up. The pain and my near drowning experience left me weak, and my senses never detected the people approaching.

"Tear! This monster is hurt!" The male voice from earlier cried.

"Fon Master! That monster could be dangerous, especially because it's hurt." The female seemed to be scolding this Fon Master person. Wait, was this really the Fon Master? I thought he was some important religious leader. What was he doing out here?

"But Tear, I've never seen a monster like this before. Perhaps it's a new species."

"Still, Fon Master," the person who wasn't there before joined in. "That was very reckless. There must be something wrong with that monster if it has yet to attack us. I must say I am quite surprised."

I looked up at the new person. He had brown hair and piecing red eyes that sent shivers up my spine. As his words sunk in, I realized I hadn't even struggled since getting picked up. Suddenly panicking, I twisted in his grip, ignoring the sudden pain in my shoulder.

"Let me go!" I cried out, even though I knew that they wouldn't be able to understand me in this form.

"Master!" An annoyingly high-pitched voice spoke. What that the cheagle from earlier? How was it speaking human? There is a distinct difference between the two, though monsters can understand both.

"Shut up, Thing!" Luke, as I remembered from earlier, barely seemed to be paying attention to what was happening.

"But Master! Ion is hurting that poor monster!"

I growled at the cheagle. Don't tell them I'm weak! That might be the only reason that they haven't attacked me. I took a risk and nipped the Fon Masters hand, not enough to draw blood, but enough so that he let me go in surprise.

I tried to run away but something collided with my side and sent me tumbling into the weeds.

"Luke!" The female from earlier scolded. That was when I realized the redhead had kicked me.

"Hey!" I shouted annoyed. "How dare you!" I fluffed out my tail, hoping to look threatening. I glared daggers at the redheaded idiot.

The other guy, the one with the weird red eyes, spoke. I had almost forgotten he was there.

"Hmm... Ion, although what you did was quite reckless, I do see your point." He lowered his voice, and I don't think I was supposed to hear the next part. "It does look like a new species of monster. If it proves not to be hostile, I'd like to take it to a lab and have it looked at. This might be a great discovery."

I growled lowly under my breath. I wasn't going to get taken in! In no time they would figure out that I was human. Then again... they probably would fix my shoulder. Yes, I'll cooperate with their little plan until I was fixed up. Then I'll escape! Ha, brilliant!

The red-eyed guy continued louder, "Mieu, can you communicate with this monster like you did with the liger queen?"

They met the liger queen? I'm surprised they're still alive after that. She was always tough, and humans were her favorite food.

The young cheagle bounded over to me, stopping a foot in front of me. I had emerged from the weeds at this point.

"Hi! My name's Mieu! Who are you?" The cheagle asked, bouncing up and down happily.

I growled in response while narrowing my eyes, making it seem like I was suspicious. "Hmph, I have no name." I couldn't say my real name. There was always the chance that I would meet them while in human form, and Wren isn't a common name. Better safe than sorry. "And what do you want?! I could rip you to shreds right now!" The small hiss of pain that followed when I put my right paw on the ground didn't help in my mission to intimidate them.

Mieu repeated what I said, and the exchange went on for a little while. It was pretty boring for the most part, before I pretended to agree to go with them. Jade, as I learned was his name, had lied and told me that they wanted me to come back to their ship to scare their prisoners into obeying. I have a feeling he thought I was just a stupid monster that thought I was all powerful. Hmph, I'll show him someday, but for now I remained calm, him saying they'd fix my shoulder if I helped them.

After I agreed, Jade walked toward me, I was momentarily confused until he grabbed me and practically threw me over his shoulder.

"WHAT THE F-" I barely remembered that a monster probably wouldn't know that word and changed it to heck. I snarled and tried to claw his shoulder but his uniform was really thick.

Mieu explained that Jade didn't want me to slow them down, to which I responded to with an annoyed hiss. Did he really have to carry me like this? That man! After a few minutes of ranting inside my head, I gave up and lay my head on my paws, which were on his shoulders.

After a long, uncomfortable walk, a new scent filled my nose and I turned around to see a small girl dressed in pink approach with a bunch of knights.

"Hey, isn't that your body guard?" Luke asked.

"Yes. That's Anise." The Fon Master replied. Anise's eyes immediately went to me. She seemed confused and a little startled, but recovered quickly.

"Welcome back~"

"Greetings, Anise. What's the status of the Tartarus?" Jade put me down as he spoke. I could sense that those two were hiding something and immediately fluffed out my fur.

Anise replied cheerfully, "Its in front of the forest, just like you asked. You said to hurry, so we came as fast as we could." I backed away slowly. Nobody seemed to notice.

"Hey? What's going on?" Luke asked, turning around to face Jade.

"Restrain those two. They are the ones that have been emitting the Seventh Fonons."

Oh. It wasn't about me, just those two. I sighed in relief and sat down by Jade's legs. I still wanted that food, not to mention my shoulder ached.

"Jade, don't do anything to hurt them."

"Don't worry. We won't kill them, assuming they don't resist." By the tone of his voice, I couldn't tell if he was dead serious or not. I wondered if this was such a good idea. Would I be able to get away later?

The knights took Luke and the girl away. I never actually learned her name... When they were gone Anise turned to me.

"Colonel? What's with the monster?" She asked, pointing to me. I twitched my ears, slightly miffed.

"Oh, Ion, why don't you take him inside? He probably wants to get fixed up." HIM!? I'm a female, thank you very much! Not to mention this was an obvious excuse to get me away, so he could tell his real motives to Anise.

I growled when Ion bent down to pick me up, and instead started to walk toward the ship. Ion fell in-step beside me, glancing at me occasionally until we were inside.

I still wonder if this was really a good idea...


End file.
